Rolling Stone's Tsarnaev cover irks many in Worcester area

Wednesday

Jul 17, 2013 at 3:04 PMJul 17, 2013 at 4:54 PM

By Mikala Kane, SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Rolling Stone magazine's decision to feature accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhohkar Tsarnaev on the cover of its latest issue is being roundly criticized by many Worcester County residents, although academics are expounding a more nuanced view of the matter.

Tsarnaev's idealized photograph accompanies an article written by Rolling Stone contributing editor Janet Reitman. The article, titled "Jahar's World," tells a "riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster," according to a post on the Rolling Stone website.

The cover photo has generated a lot of backlash since it was released online Tuesday night.

"I think it's ridiculous," said Amanda Topping of Worcester. Ms. Topping, a graduate student at Worcester State University, said placing Tsarnaev on the cover was a bold statement, but not necessarily a good one as people usually see the people on Rolling Stone as role models.

"I can't believe they did that," Ms. Topping said.

George Bohrer, professor of communications media at Fitchburg State University, is not surprised by the cover, however. Traditionally, Rolling Stone is a counter-cultural periodical, Mr. Bohrer said. The magazine once had Charles Manson, the murderous cult leader of the 1960s, on its cover.

"It is an in-your-face cover, which will generate a lot of sales," Mr. Bohrer said. "I suspect the article will not glorify [Tsarnaev]. Rolling Stone has a reputation for good journalism."

Mr. Bohrer said he is sure Rolling Stone loves the response to the cover, even if the majority of it is negative. "The more it becomes a social media event, the more people will be thinking about Rolling Stone and that particular issue of Rolling Stone," Mr. Bohrer said.

Ultimately, Mr. Bohrer said, placing Tsarnaev on the cover is a marketing move. He said it is not one the magazine has used in a long time, but will use to rebrand itself, sell more copies and interest younger readers.

Interest of younger readers is definitely piqued.

"I don't think it's right," said Elizabeth Thacker, a junior at Worcester State. "They're giving him exactly what he wants: making his name known."

"I'm not comfortable with them making him a star," said Oscar Pintado, 16. "They shouldn't show his face on covers."

"They need to focus more on the victims," said Jacob Rivard, 18.

The Associated Press reported that CVS pharmacies, based in Woonsocket, R.I., and Tedeshci Food Shops, based in Rockland, along with the Roche Bros. grocery chain, said Wednesday that they will not sell the magazine in their stores. Stop & Shop and Walgreens followed suit.

Fern Johnson, a professor of English at Clark University who specializes in the study of ethnicity, race, and gender in discourse, said Rolling Stone's cover photo will become the dominant image of "the teenage bomber."

"Rolling Stone's cover of the dreamily enhanced photo of Tsarnaev capitalizes on the power of the image to travel instantly across all media -- Internet news, social media, TV, and radio talk shows," Ms. Johnson said. "Much more captivating than the photo as seen elsewhere, Rolling Stone's version is enticing both because of where it appears and because it provides so much more visual appeal than the limited sketches circulating recently because of the bar on cameras in the federal courtroom."

Michael Labbe, 46, of Uxbridge said he definitely wants to read the article when it is released.

"This is very local and very interesting," Mr. Labbe said. He said he sees no problem with the cover photo, as it is Rolling Stone's job to get a story out. "Give me his point of view, as long as it is impartially written."